1507-1509 East Long Street
Excerpts from Roots to Fruit: Family Stories with Faith as the Root and Love as the Fruit, by Marshall L. Grant Jr. (2012)
East Long Street
After living in Poindexter Village for almost ten years, in early 1950, we moved to 1507 East Long Street. Even though we were only about two miles away from our previous apartment in Poindexter Village, it was almost like being in another city. We had new geography to discover and navigate and we had new friends to meet and learn about. But we did have one advantage in becoming accustomed to our new environment. Our Poindexter Village friends, Paul and Billy Shearer had moved two years earlier to our new neighborhood. In fact, they lived one street over on (1529) Menlo Place, which was north of Long Street and ran parallel to Long Street. Their house was on the south side of Menlo Place and our house was on the south side of Long Street. We would visit each other quite often. When we both lived in Poindexter Village, we lived across the alley from each other. We had cans hooked to a long string and used them as a makeshift telephone. We would also cook food and share it when our parents were not at home.
After we moved on Long Street near them, our relationship resumed and I believe became better. That was probably because we were all older. We didn't hang out together because both Paul and Billy were older than me and in different grades at school. But we were still close with each other. I can still remember their father becoming ill and dying in 1953. He was only forty-four years of age when he died. He was a very intelligent man and a leader in his community and I don't just mean the black community. I remember him as being a strong democrat and a fighter for equal rights. His children were raised to become somebody and they have become very accomplished. His oldest son, Paul Jr. was a member of the Best Damn Band in the Land in 1951 when he was about sixteen years of age. If you don't know what band I am talking about, it is the Ohio State University Marching Band. I was so very proud of him.
Even though Paul Jr. was about three years older than me, He turned out to be one if not the very best friend that I had. His friendship to me was invaluable during my young adult years before I had graduated from Ohio University. In fact, he was the only one of my childhood buddies to come to my college graduation in August 1964. I love all of my childhood friends but I have a special love and affectation for Paul Jr. His brother Billy was my good friend also. He wrote me wonderful letters after my parents and son's death that gave me hope and inspiration to carry on. Billy and my father had a special relationship because after Billy's father died he came to my father for guidance and advice. After Billy had joined the Marine Corps, my father started calling him captain. My father knew that Billy had high goals and this was my father's way of encouraging him. Upon his discharge from the Marines, Billy joined the reserves and worked his way up to It. colonel. However, before he became a lt. colonel, he made captain.
He very proudly came over to tell my father that he was a real captain now. I haven't mentioned their sister Nikki, since she was younger than me. She grew up and became an accomplished writer. Also their mother Isabel was a beautiful woman who had a lively and spirited personality. She was also a very intelligent woman and it was hard to believe when she passed away as she always seemed so full of life. It was after I moved on East Long Street when I met Herbie Foster and Luther Guynes. They both became very good friends of mine and understandably we spent a lot of time together. I would play sandlot basketball with Luther; and Herbie introduced me to lifting weights. Some other friends I met after moving to East Long Street were John Robinson, Harold Cundiff (1404 East Long Street) and the Long Brothers, Albert, David (Doogie) and Wylie. We spent a lot of time playing basketball at Saint Cyprian Catholic Church on Hawthorne Avenue next to Poindexter Village where I lived as child. As I grew older, I also attended dances on Saturday nights at Saint Cyprian Catholic Church.
When I was a newspaper carrier for the Columbus Dispatch, I carried papers to the house of William Cy Butler, the outstanding basketball coach of Champion Junior High School and his lovely wife Dr. Julia Butler (175 Parkwood Avenue). Their children, Courtney and Bill, were younger than me but Courtney was a contemporary of my sister, Alice Carole. I also met another boy younger than me named Norval McAllister (204 Parkwood Avenue) who was the son of one of my customers. I haven't seen Norval in over fifty five years, but I still remember him fondly. In 1976, our house on Long Street was torn down to make way for improvements to Columbus East High School. Even though my mother was now living in a beautiful new home, she broke down and cried upon hearing the news of our family home being destroyed.
My New Hood
The house my father had bought for us was located at 1507-1509 East Long Street. It was a spacious duplex, which we lived in the lower half. One of the first things we did upon moving in was to sand and refinish the floors. Then my father divided the upper half into two apartments. When we first moved in, I remember there was a booth in the kitchen where we could sit and eat. The booth did not last too long and it was taken out and replaced with a table and chairs. I can remember watching wrestling on television and my father cooking steaks for us on Saturday night. Gorgeous George, Don Eagle and Antonino Rocca were some of the wrestlers that we enjoyed watching. This house had a big beautiful front porch where we could sit and watch the traffic go by. In the back yard my father built an outdoor fish pond where we had a few goldfish. There was one in particular that we named Little Shorty. I don't remember what happened to Little Shorty and the rest of the fish. I imagine a cat went fishing and ate them all. We also had a three car garage that we never used to park our car. My father built a basketball rim on the garage and all of us including my father would play basketball in the alley where the garage was located.
Eventually my father, brother and I had to tear the garage down because it needed too many repairs. We never did replace it. Across the street was a vacant lot where shortly after we moved there, St. Philip Lutheran Church was built. This is the same church where my brother and his wife, Addie attend today and where he has served as the church president. Next to the church on the northeast corner of Long and Taylor avenue was a building that included a Kroger Store, a delicatessen and a barber shop. This Kroger Store was different from any Kroger Store you see today. It was not a market or a supermarket. The first supermarket in Central Ohio was built by Big Bear in the nineteen fifties. This Kroger Store was small and you had to ask a clerk for what you wanted to buy. For example, if you wanted to buy a box of cereal, the clerk would take a long handle grabber and get the cereal off a high shelf. All the merchandise for sale was behind the counter and you needed a clerk to get it for you. This building today houses the Willis Beauty Supply Company's store for Hair N Stuff which is owned by my childhood friend, James Willis and his brother Sherman.
On the northwest corner of Taylor and Long was another building containing three or four businesses. I remember one of them being Barney's Market and the other being a bakery shop. I finally became old enough to work for Barney's and drive his delivery truck like the older guys that I had looked up to. Of course I was a frequent customer of the bakery shop. I loved the donuts and brownies they baked. I would buy some baked goods and a quart of milk and have a party. I remember going out for the football team with its two-a-day practices. In between the practices, I would get a loaf of freshly baked bread and a jar of jelly to eat. No wonder, I didn't make the football team. This building was torn down and a building for Tyler's Pharmacy was built. After Tyler's Pharmacy went out of business Willis Beauty Supply bought the building. This was before they moved across to the building next to St. Philip Lutheran Church.
Today, Ohio State University Hospital East occupies the northwest and southwest corners of Long and Taylor. The hospital acquired the northwest property from Willis Beauty Supply in exchange for the property on the northeast corner. On the southwest corner was a large apartment building containing the Tyler's Pharmacy which later moved across the street. On the southeast corner was a gasoline station. This was eventually torn down and replaced with a house. Behind our house on East Long Street was Eastwood Avenue where there were houses and a large building housing the Eastwood Storage Company (1500 Eastwood Avenue). My brother would climb to the roof of this building for the challenge. This was done of course, without my parent's knowledge. All the property between Long Street, Eastwood, Taylor and Parkwood Avenues was torn down to make way for the expansion of Columbus East High School.
East Long Street
After living in Poindexter Village for almost ten years, in early 1950, we moved to 1507 East Long Street. Even though we were only about two miles away from our previous apartment in Poindexter Village, it was almost like being in another city. We had new geography to discover and navigate and we had new friends to meet and learn about. But we did have one advantage in becoming accustomed to our new environment. Our Poindexter Village friends, Paul and Billy Shearer had moved two years earlier to our new neighborhood. In fact, they lived one street over on (1529) Menlo Place, which was north of Long Street and ran parallel to Long Street. Their house was on the south side of Menlo Place and our house was on the south side of Long Street. We would visit each other quite often. When we both lived in Poindexter Village, we lived across the alley from each other. We had cans hooked to a long string and used them as a makeshift telephone. We would also cook food and share it when our parents were not at home.
After we moved on Long Street near them, our relationship resumed and I believe became better. That was probably because we were all older. We didn't hang out together because both Paul and Billy were older than me and in different grades at school. But we were still close with each other. I can still remember their father becoming ill and dying in 1953. He was only forty-four years of age when he died. He was a very intelligent man and a leader in his community and I don't just mean the black community. I remember him as being a strong democrat and a fighter for equal rights. His children were raised to become somebody and they have become very accomplished. His oldest son, Paul Jr. was a member of the Best Damn Band in the Land in 1951 when he was about sixteen years of age. If you don't know what band I am talking about, it is the Ohio State University Marching Band. I was so very proud of him.
Even though Paul Jr. was about three years older than me, He turned out to be one if not the very best friend that I had. His friendship to me was invaluable during my young adult years before I had graduated from Ohio University. In fact, he was the only one of my childhood buddies to come to my college graduation in August 1964. I love all of my childhood friends but I have a special love and affectation for Paul Jr. His brother Billy was my good friend also. He wrote me wonderful letters after my parents and son's death that gave me hope and inspiration to carry on. Billy and my father had a special relationship because after Billy's father died he came to my father for guidance and advice. After Billy had joined the Marine Corps, my father started calling him captain. My father knew that Billy had high goals and this was my father's way of encouraging him. Upon his discharge from the Marines, Billy joined the reserves and worked his way up to It. colonel. However, before he became a lt. colonel, he made captain.
He very proudly came over to tell my father that he was a real captain now. I haven't mentioned their sister Nikki, since she was younger than me. She grew up and became an accomplished writer. Also their mother Isabel was a beautiful woman who had a lively and spirited personality. She was also a very intelligent woman and it was hard to believe when she passed away as she always seemed so full of life. It was after I moved on East Long Street when I met Herbie Foster and Luther Guynes. They both became very good friends of mine and understandably we spent a lot of time together. I would play sandlot basketball with Luther; and Herbie introduced me to lifting weights. Some other friends I met after moving to East Long Street were John Robinson, Harold Cundiff (1404 East Long Street) and the Long Brothers, Albert, David (Doogie) and Wylie. We spent a lot of time playing basketball at Saint Cyprian Catholic Church on Hawthorne Avenue next to Poindexter Village where I lived as child. As I grew older, I also attended dances on Saturday nights at Saint Cyprian Catholic Church.
When I was a newspaper carrier for the Columbus Dispatch, I carried papers to the house of William Cy Butler, the outstanding basketball coach of Champion Junior High School and his lovely wife Dr. Julia Butler (175 Parkwood Avenue). Their children, Courtney and Bill, were younger than me but Courtney was a contemporary of my sister, Alice Carole. I also met another boy younger than me named Norval McAllister (204 Parkwood Avenue) who was the son of one of my customers. I haven't seen Norval in over fifty five years, but I still remember him fondly. In 1976, our house on Long Street was torn down to make way for improvements to Columbus East High School. Even though my mother was now living in a beautiful new home, she broke down and cried upon hearing the news of our family home being destroyed.
My New Hood
The house my father had bought for us was located at 1507-1509 East Long Street. It was a spacious duplex, which we lived in the lower half. One of the first things we did upon moving in was to sand and refinish the floors. Then my father divided the upper half into two apartments. When we first moved in, I remember there was a booth in the kitchen where we could sit and eat. The booth did not last too long and it was taken out and replaced with a table and chairs. I can remember watching wrestling on television and my father cooking steaks for us on Saturday night. Gorgeous George, Don Eagle and Antonino Rocca were some of the wrestlers that we enjoyed watching. This house had a big beautiful front porch where we could sit and watch the traffic go by. In the back yard my father built an outdoor fish pond where we had a few goldfish. There was one in particular that we named Little Shorty. I don't remember what happened to Little Shorty and the rest of the fish. I imagine a cat went fishing and ate them all. We also had a three car garage that we never used to park our car. My father built a basketball rim on the garage and all of us including my father would play basketball in the alley where the garage was located.
Eventually my father, brother and I had to tear the garage down because it needed too many repairs. We never did replace it. Across the street was a vacant lot where shortly after we moved there, St. Philip Lutheran Church was built. This is the same church where my brother and his wife, Addie attend today and where he has served as the church president. Next to the church on the northeast corner of Long and Taylor avenue was a building that included a Kroger Store, a delicatessen and a barber shop. This Kroger Store was different from any Kroger Store you see today. It was not a market or a supermarket. The first supermarket in Central Ohio was built by Big Bear in the nineteen fifties. This Kroger Store was small and you had to ask a clerk for what you wanted to buy. For example, if you wanted to buy a box of cereal, the clerk would take a long handle grabber and get the cereal off a high shelf. All the merchandise for sale was behind the counter and you needed a clerk to get it for you. This building today houses the Willis Beauty Supply Company's store for Hair N Stuff which is owned by my childhood friend, James Willis and his brother Sherman.
On the northwest corner of Taylor and Long was another building containing three or four businesses. I remember one of them being Barney's Market and the other being a bakery shop. I finally became old enough to work for Barney's and drive his delivery truck like the older guys that I had looked up to. Of course I was a frequent customer of the bakery shop. I loved the donuts and brownies they baked. I would buy some baked goods and a quart of milk and have a party. I remember going out for the football team with its two-a-day practices. In between the practices, I would get a loaf of freshly baked bread and a jar of jelly to eat. No wonder, I didn't make the football team. This building was torn down and a building for Tyler's Pharmacy was built. After Tyler's Pharmacy went out of business Willis Beauty Supply bought the building. This was before they moved across to the building next to St. Philip Lutheran Church.
Today, Ohio State University Hospital East occupies the northwest and southwest corners of Long and Taylor. The hospital acquired the northwest property from Willis Beauty Supply in exchange for the property on the northeast corner. On the southwest corner was a large apartment building containing the Tyler's Pharmacy which later moved across the street. On the southeast corner was a gasoline station. This was eventually torn down and replaced with a house. Behind our house on East Long Street was Eastwood Avenue where there were houses and a large building housing the Eastwood Storage Company (1500 Eastwood Avenue). My brother would climb to the roof of this building for the challenge. This was done of course, without my parent's knowledge. All the property between Long Street, Eastwood, Taylor and Parkwood Avenues was torn down to make way for the expansion of Columbus East High School.